UK health officials say they cannot say whether the monkeypox spread in the country has peaked as they have announced a further 45 cases, bringing the total of the largest-ever outbreak outside Africa to 366 points.
The United Kingdom Health Security Agency said 99 percent of the total cases were in men, and nearly all 152 men who provided detailed information were identified as gay, bisexual, or men who have sex with men.
About 80 percent of the cases were in London, and the agency said the median age of those infected was 38.
“We cannot yet determine whether transmission has stopped increasing,” the agency said in a report, citing the delay in reporting between when patients experienced symptoms and were confirmed to have monkeypox.
Anyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, is susceptible to the monkeypox virus if they come into close physical contact with an infected person or their bedding or clothing.
“Findings show that monkeypox is spread in geographically diffuse sexual networks,” the scientists wrote, adding that some of these connections extended beyond the UK.
“Most cases reported having sexual contact with new or casual partners, sometimes in the context of cruises or Chemex,” the experts said, referring to sex in conjunction with drug use.
The expert noted that contact details of sexual partners were often unavailable.
Last month, a leading World Health Organization adviser said the outbreak in Europe and beyond was likely spread by sex at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium.
Earlier this week, the WHO said more than 1,000 cases of monkeypox had been reported in 29 countries that have not had an outbreak of the smallpox-related disease before, including the United States, Portugal, Australia, Spain, Italy, and Canada.
Poland reported its first case on Friday.
The Health Security Agency found that many cases in the UK involved men who reported having sex in saunas, dark rooms, or sex clubs.
“Therefore, partnering with sex-on-premises locations to implement targeted interventions would support outbreak control,” the agency said.
It added that using targeted messaging on dating apps could also be helpful or “support innovative approaches to contact tracing”.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it is likely that monkeypox has been transmitted undetected outside Africa for some time and that the United Nations health agency was concerned that the disease would infect more vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women and children.
The WHO’s top monkey pox expert, Dr. Rosamund Lewis, said earlier this week there was still “a chance” to prevent monkeypox from spreading to the general population and those who are more at risk for serious disease.
Most monkeypox patients only experience fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue.
People with more serious illnesses may develop skin rashes and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other body parts.
The WHO has identified a mortality rate of 3 to 6 percent in severe cases involving people without access to health care.
The ongoing outbreak of monkeypox in the UK and elsewhere is the first time the disease has been known to spread among people who have had no previous travel connections to Africa.
British scientists said they found three mutations in the monkeypox virus spreading in the country and labeled them “high priority” as they were found to worsen the disease in rats.
They said more research was needed to determine if the changes were significant.